Packaging means



July 7, 1942. `s. H. BERci-l PACKAGING MEANS Filed June 13, 1939 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 @www July 7, 1942. l s. H. BERH 2,288,603

PACKAGING MEANS Filed June 13, 1939 9 Sheets-Sheet 2 bg y #wf/vm@ v 54m/a f1. @fm1 AWWA/[y July 7, 1942,

s.V H. BERcH 2,288,603

A TTRNEY July 7 1942- 's1 H. BERCH 2,288,63A

PACKAGING `MEA-Ns x v Filed June 15, 1959 9 sheets-sheet 4 5A Mun ff. 5mm y July 7,- 1942. s, H, BERCH 2,238,603

PACKAGING MEANS Filed June 15, 1939 9 sheets-sheets fil?.

` Arme/vtr' July 7, 1942.

s. H. BERCH 2,288,603

PACKAGING MEANS Filed June l3, 1939 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 July 7, 1942.

s. H. BERG-,iv

PACKAGING MEANS- Filed June 13, 1939 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 July 7, 1942.. Y s. H. BERCH 2,288,603

PACKAGING MEANS A Filed June 13. 1939 Y 9 Sheets-Sheet'Q SAMUEL hi PCH l `ulffatentecl July 7, 1942-v Y UNITED: STATES PATENT -oFFIcE- PACKAGING MEANS Samuel H. Berch, Beverly Hills, Calif. Applicationune 13, 1939, Serial No. 219,150

, 5- oaims. This invention relates to the packaging of food and the like and particularly pertains to a method andimeans of packaging and vacuum sealing products;

In the packaging 'of food products in 'contain-n ers which have been made ,from laminated materials in the manner disclosed in my co-pending applications entitled Laminated products .'and method and apparatus for making the same, Serial No. 226,119, iiled April 5, 1939, andy Laminated product and method of making the same, Serial No. 266,873, filed April 8, 1939, and from which product a package is made as disclosed in my issued patent entitled Method and means of packaging 4food products and thelike, Patent No. 2,102,716, issued December 21, 1937, it

. is desirable to provide automatic means for handling the packages and filling and sealing thesame under vacuum. It is the principal object of the present invention, therefore, toprovide a 4method and apparatus within which the previ- .ously formed ilexible containersare placed and byfwhich apparatus the containersare'opened, formed into package shape. conveyed to filling means, where they are automatically lled and after which they are conveyed to means for vacuumizing the container and the contents therein,

and closing and sealing the package, the entire method vand apparatus operating in fullautomatic action Vto receive the collapsed packages at one point in the machine and to deliver vacuumsealed perfectly formed packages from another point in the machine, all .of which action takes place in asimple and direct manner and makes it possible to obtain the product from the ma-` chine in large quantities and in properly formed and lsealed packages.

The present invention contemplates the provision of a supply station at which previously formed collapsed flexible packages are stacked and from which they are removed individually' and consecutively as they are opened. The invention contemplates the provision of the transfer of the opened containers to molds vwhich carry the containers consecutively to a filling station and to a -combined vacuumizing and seal- Fig. 2 is a View in plan showing the complete assembly.

Fig. 3 is a view in end e1evat1on showing the 55 l. Fig. 18 is a view in transverse section through magazine end of the machine as seen in the direction of the arrow 3 in Fig. 1. f

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in plan showing the container magazine and particularly 5 disclosing the trip mechanism lfor the `expanding fingers.

Fig. 5 is a view in elevation as seen on the line 5--5 of Fig. 4 and disclosing the magazines and the means provided for expanding the'mouth of l the lowermost container in the stack.

Fig. a is a fragmentary view inperspective showing one of. the container spreader fingers."

Fig. 6 is a View in vertical section as seen on the lineof Fig- 5 to discloseone of the mag- 0' azines withthe lowermost container vhaving vits mouth expanded and with the fragmentary'por tion of the expanding core indicated as moving -toward the expanded mouth `of the container.

Fig. 'l is a view in vertical section and side elevation showing the operating mechanism for the expanding core.

- Fig. 8 is an enlarged view in side Aelevation i showing the folding guides and their relation to the expanding means.

Fig. 9 is a View in transverse section through f one of the folding guides as seen on"the line 9-9 of Fig. 8 showing the method in which the folding guides and expander cooperate to form theV container.

Fig. 10 is a View in vertical section on the line Ill-I0 of Fig; 1 showing the package feed station. Fig. 11 is a view onthe line II-II of Fig. 1 showing the means for spreading the' mouth of the container prior totheclosing operation, as

seen in vertical section and elevation.`

Fig. 12 is a view in transverse section through the spreading mechanism as seen on the line |2-l2 of Fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is a view in vertical section through the vpackage mold, the folding, sealing and vacuumizing means at the sealing-station.

Fig. 14 is a view in horizontal section through the machine as seen on the line lli-I4 of Fig. 13 4,5 and discloses an individual. sealing unit and its operating mechanism." I

Fig. 15 is a view in end elevation showing the discharge'end of the machine.

Fig. 16 is a view in perspective showing the container in its initial condition and reversed in position from that which .it assumes in 'the magazines.

Fig. 17 is a View, in perspective showing the package in its llnal form.

the folding guide as seen on the line I8-I8 of Fig, 8.

Fig. 1 9 is a fragmentary view showing the folding fingers in their unfolded positions. 5

Referring more particularly to the drawings,

' I0 and II indicate the vertical base plate frame elements. Carried by the sub frame comprising the base plates I and II is a magazine unit I2, an expanding and forming unit I3, a container filling unit I4, a container spreading unit I and a vacuum sealing u nit I6. The units are automatically driven in synchronism from a motor I1 which is fitted with a pulley I8 driving a belt or series of belts I9. The belt I9 is carried upon a main drive shaft 20. This shaft extends horizontally and is supported in suitable bearings of the vertical base plates ,III and II. Mounted upon the shaft 20 is a driving pinion ZI.` This pinion is in mesh with an intermediate driving gear 22 which is carried upon an intermediate shaft 23. The shaft 23 is supported in suitable bearings in plates .I0 and II. The intermediate shaft 23 is 4fitted with a driving pinion 24 which is in mesh with a gear 25 carried upon a cam shaft 26. The camshaft 26 is also journaled in the base plates I0 and II. This cam shaft operates certain mechanism tobe hereinafter described and carries a disc 21 with a pin 28 'which forms part of a Geneva movement, including a Genevastar wheel 29. The pin 28 engages grooves 30 in the edge of the Geneva star wheel 29 and intermittently drives a conveyor shaft 3I. The conveyor shaft 3I carries conveyor chains 32 and 33 which pass around sprockets 34 and 35 which chains carry mold units 36 shown particularly in Fig. 15 of the drawings, and 4which units will be hereinafter described. The conveyor chains 32 and 33 are also led around sprockets 36 and 31 at the opposite end of the base plates I0 and II and carried upon a shaft 38. It will thus be seen that by this arrangement the conveyor chains 32 and 33 have longitudinally extending and horizontally disposed runs-ofchain. The uppermost' run of chain supports the mold units 36 in a manner to present their open ends uppermost for purposes to be hereinafter described.

The main drive shaft 20 extends through base plate I0 and is there fitted with a worm gear 39 which is in mesh with a worm wheel 48. The worm wheel 40 is mountedupon a longitudinally extending cam shaft 4I. This shaft is supported in bearings 42 and 43 carried upon the base plate I0 of the machine. At a point intermediate the worm wheel 40 and the bearing 42 a bevel gear 44 is mounted upon the shaft 4I and is in mesh with a gear 45 carried upon a transverse cam hand end of the machine.

shaft 46 fitted with cams which will be hereinl after described. The shaft 4I extends beyond the end of the bearing 42 and is there provided with a miter gear 41 which is in mesh with a complementary gear 48. The gear 48 is mounted upon a transverse magazine cam shaft 49 carried in suitable bearings 50 secured at the ends of the base members I0 and Il. This shaft carries a magazine cam 5I .which will be hereinafter described. y

Mounted upon theopposite end of the shaft 4I and adjacent to the bearing l43 is a spreader cam 52.. This cam is engaged by a roller 53 on a cam arm 54. The cam arm 54 is secured on the end mounted in suitable bearings 56 and 51 on the 75 side of the base plate I0 and performs a function to be hereinafter described.

The container magazine Referring particularly to Fig. 1 it will be seen that the magazine unit I2 is disposed at the left- This unit extends transversely of the base structure and thereabove and is supported by brackets 58 and horizontal guide shafts 59 vand 60. The guide shafts extend through bearings 6I and 62 which are carried at opposite ends of a frame structure of the magag zine which includes front frame plates 63 and rear frame plates 64. Between these frame plates partition walls 65 and 66 are provided to form bins 61 within which a plurality of containers 68 are placed. These containers, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, are made from sheets of material so that there is a fold B9 and a fold 10 which will formy the opposite side walls of the container when the structure is folded, as hereinafter described. The container structure is bf the type described in my previously mentioned Patent No. 2,102,716 and is here shown as formed with the uppermost wall 69 being longer than the lower wall 18 so that a lip portion 1I will be used to assist in spreading the mouth of the container to receive the expander. The container is here shown as formed by folding a sheet of material upon itself and sealing the abutting faces of the wall portions 69 and I0 together along marginal edges of the sides of the folded sheet. The container in its folded condition is shown in Fig. 16. The final package is disclosed in Fig. 17.

Extending vertically as supported by the front plate 63 of the magazine are a plurality of shafts 12. These shafts are arranged in pairs adjacent the walls 65 and 66 of the bins 61 and are geared together by pinions 13. One of each set of pairs of pinions geared together is in mesh with the teeth 14 of a gear rack. These teeth are carried upon a transversely sliding rack bar 15. The

rack bar 15 slides upon a supporting plate 16....

Secured to shaft 12 of one of the sets of pinions is a trip lever 11. This lever is provided with a rigid end 18 and a yieldable end 19. The two ends of the trip lever 11 are disposed in the path of trip fingers and 8I, respectively, which are carried upon shafts 82 and 83.A These shafts overhang the top of the magazine and support the downwardly 'extending trip fingers, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings. Thus, when the magazine assembly I2 moves forwardly for a purpose .to be hereinafter described the ends of the trip will engage the trip fingers 80 or 8|, as the case may be, and rotate the shaft 12' a. portion of a revolution to impart movement to the rack bar 15 and correspondingly rotate all of the shafts 12 and their gears 13. The gears 13 are temporarily held in either of their extreme positions by a spring 84 which is attached to the frame structure 63 at one end and to a lever 85 at its opposite end. The lever 85 is secured to one of the gear shafts 12 and when it passes over dead center the spring holds it in its extreme positions.

Theshafts 12 each carry a spreader finger 86. These fingers, as shown in Fig.4 of the drawings, are angle-shaped and have a curved free end 81 so that the fingers will swing from the solid line position indicated in Fig. 4 of the draw` ings to the dotted line position, where they will be within the mouth of a container 68. Referring to Fig. 5a particularly it will be seen that; in

the machine.

transverse section the 'finger members 86 are angular, having two lips 89 and 90 which act to spread the mouthof the container at the edges aasaeos spread apartvby the fingers 06 the lower wall 10 drawings. These pads 9| will" temporarily restrain the container 68 from displacement while vwill be pressed against resilient ypads 9| which are held on adjusting Ascrews 92 carried by brackets 93, as particularly shown in Fig. of the an expanding core 94 is moved into theslotted mouth of the container as held open by the ln' gers 86 at each side thereof and a lip V95 projecting inwardly from the magazine plate 63 and over which the extending portion 1| of the upper container walls 69 hangs. v

-Container expanding and shaping ymechamsm.

When the container is positioned at the bottom of a magazine compartment in the magazine expander 94 is supported by a plate |20 which is I2 with its mouth spread, as vpreviously described,-

it is then in position to receive the expanding core 94 which is a part of the expander mechanism generally indicated at I3 in Fig. l of` the draw ,l ings. 'Ihe expanding cores are -shaped to agree with the shape desired for the final package. The core, as here disclosed, comprises top and bottom side walls 96 and 91, respectively, closed at their forward ends by complementary end wall members 98 and 99. .The end wall members are hinged Atogether at |00 and are hinged to the for ward edges ofl the side walls at |0I and |02. Edge wall structures comprising complementary plates |03 and |04 are hinged along af median line |05 and are hinged to the side wall plates by hinges |06 and |01. Thus, the entire expander structure can collapse to bring theopposite flat i sides 96 and 91 substantially together and foldV Y theendand edge members substantially together on" their hinges. This collapsed expander structure is swung to a horiimntal position and there held While the container` magazine and the containers move toward it'and the lowermost con'- tainer, the mouth of which is spread, passes over and onto the expander while the expander stands still. The magazine |2, as previously explained, is'supportedupon the horizontal guide rods 69 and 60. The outermost ends nf these guide rods are supported upon brackets 58. The opposite ends of the guide rods are mounted upon a crosshead |09y which is carried by vertical standards 4 |09 and IIO secured tothe base plates I0 and in fittings I I2. The container magazine: reciprocates horizontally on the guiderods 59 and 60.

lThis is brought about by a cam lever I|3 which is mounted upon a pivot pin ||4 carried by abracket IIB.' The bracket H5 is secured to one of the base plates I0 or II. The cam lever I|3 is ,mounted to vmove in unison with acam arm to thebottom of the container and will then move the container so that it will be aligned upon the expander as accommodated by the space ||8 shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings, at which time the'friction members 9| will yieldably hold the container to insure that the end hinge |00 has reached the bottom of the container and will then allow the container to be drawn with the expander so that the overhanging'. lip 1| of the container will move to a point of disengagement fromthe ledge 95. The trip member and retracting stroke 'of the container magazine I2. The supporting rods 82 and`83- are carried on a cross-head structure ||9 which is vertically adjustable on the standards- |09 and ||0. The

secured to the upper wall section 96 of the expander. This'plate is pivoted upon a shaft |2| end receives lock nuts |21. This provides a slight amount of lost motion in the rod |28 with relation to the arm |24 but insures positive movement ofthe rod |28 when the arm |24 swings downwardly. An extension |29 of the rod |24 carries a cam roller |32. The rollerA rides over the face of a cam |33. This cam'is mounted upon the cam shaft 49 previously described. The cross-head |22 is intended to be rvertically reciprocated by a rocker arm |34 which is. pivoted to the base plate I0 upon a pivot shaft |35. At the free endV of this rocker arm |34 a shackle rod |36 is provided,one end being pivoted to the arm |34 and the other to thelcross-head. At a ,point inter.. mediate the ends of the arm |34 a cam roller |31 is provided to ride upon the face of a rocking ||6 which carries a roller |I1. The roller ||1 bears against the face of cam 5I.- Thiscam has been previously described as being mounted upon a transverse shaft 49 driven from the longitudinal drive shaft 4|.' It is designed with a' suitable dwell and swellwhich will oscillate the lever v||3 and reciprocate 'the container magazine in synchronism with the vother operating units of tainer magazine is determined by the design of the cam 5| and. is slightly greater than the length The length of stroke of the conf` cam |38 which is mounted upon the intermediate shaft 46. This cam and lever arm' raise the expander vstructures to their container receiving positions and lower the expanders with the containers to deposit them within the mold units 39 carried on the sprocket chains 32 and'which will be described Vmore particularly hereinafter.

, After a container 'has been slippedv over an ex pander to a position where it snugly iitsyand has been forced back intoV the magazine out of engagement with the' yieldable holding means the previously collapsed expander is expanded. This structure comprises a pressure plate |39 slidable with relation to the expander and which is provided with a spring |40 acting to move the parts of the expander toward. their expanded position. Pressure arms 14| are mounted upon pivot pins |42 and carried by brackets |43 on standards |44. These arms are bell cranks, the downwardly extending vertical arm of which bears against' the end of 'apressure plate |39, while the opposite Varm ofthe bell crank is secured to a vertical rod V|45 by a pin |46. The rod |45 extends downwardly and is pivotally secured to a cam lever |41- which is mounted intermediate its ends upon a shaft |48 carriedby the base plate structure. The opposite free end of this lever carries a cam roller |49 riding on a cam |50. The cam |50 is' l i 11, as previously described engages the trip ngers and 8| on the advance the pressure plates |39 the expanding devices 94 are collapsed and are thus held while the containers are being positioned over them.l When the levers |4| rock,they relieve pressure on the ends of the pressure plates |39 and permit the springs |40 to expand the expanders.- This will give the container a shape substantially of rectangular cross-section. It is to be understood, however, that the developed length as represented by the wall of the container encircling the .expander is somewhat greater than the same section ofthe expander so that the container will readily slip oi of the expander when the container and expander have been withdrawn from the magazine. Thus, when the expander with the container have been swung to a vertical position beneath the pivot shaft |2| the container will fall from the expander and into a mold pocket |5|, which mold pockets form a part of the mold structure 36.

When the expander 94 with a container\68 thereupon moves from its horizontal position to its vertical position it swings along a folding guide |52. This guide is particularly shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 20, and comprises a pair of guide rails |53 and |54 which substantially represent the width of the finally folded container. These guide rails represent approximately one-fourth of a circle in arcuate length and are spaced with their sides parallel and vertical. A bottom rail |55 is disposed between the side rails but out of .contact therewith. The width of the bottom rail along the entering .portion of the guide is less than the width at the discharge end, as shown by comparison of -th'e sections disclosed in Figs. 9 and 20 of the drawings. Here it will be seen that the bottom guide |55 cooperates with the side guides |53 and |54 to form throats |56 and |51 into which the partially formed bottom corners of the package extend, and that at the discharge end of the bottom guide |55 anges |58 and |59 extend on the outside of` the guide plates |53 and |54 to fold the corners upwardly and toward a position where they will be folded back on the body of the formed container. The guide plates |53 and |54 will also act to fold the sealed side seams over on the edges of the container as the expander with the container thereon moves to a position to swing free of the lower end of the guide structure |52.

The mold units As previously described, the mold units 36- extend transversely of the machine andere supported on traveling chains 32 and 33'driven by sprockets 34 and 35. These units comprise an upper pan structure |60 formed with openings in its floor and through which the mold pockets |5| are supported. The mold pockets are of a size slightly in excess of the finished package produced when the container 68 is filled, as will be hereinafter described. In the pan section |60 bearings |6| and |62 are provided which rotatably support shafts |63 and |64, respectively. Mounted on these shafts are folding ngers |65 and |66. By reference to Fig. 13 of the drawings it'will be seen that the ngers .|65 and |66 fold to an overlapping position whenithe package is to be sealed and that the nger |65 has an overhanging portion |61 which folds down over a projecting portion |68 on the finger |66. The operationand uses of this structure will be hereinafter described. At the present it is sufficient to state that when the empty container slips from the exspur gear pinions pander into a mold pocket |5| the fingers |65 and 75 |66 are in their vertical positions, as shown in Fig. 19 of the drawings, and at a subsequent point in the travel of the mold units the fingers swing to the position shown in Fig. 13 of the drawings. The empty containers, after being deposited in the mold pockets |5|, .are then carried by the conveyor chains 32 and 33 to the filling station |4.

The container filling unit telescoping chute is vertically slidable and is pro- I vided with a supporting lug |13 attached to an oscillating larm |14.. This arm is mounted upon a pivot |15 carried by brackets |16 on standards |11. The end of the lever |14 which projects beyond the pivot |15 engages a pin |18 secured to a connecting rod |19. This rod is attached at its lower end to one arm b y a cam lever |80. The

cam lever is mounted upon a pivot |8| and carries a cam roller |82 at its free end. The

roller |82 rolls upon the circumferential edge of a cam |83. This cam is mounted on the transverse shaft 46. The timing of the cam is such as to insure that the telescoping chute Will quickly enter the mouth of the container when it is placed therebeneath by the mold unit, and

as lling takes place the chute will gradually withdraw from the container, thereby facilitating in packing the contents of the container. During this lling and withdrawing movement the molds are being vibrated by suitable vibrating mechanism which tends to cause'the material to settle and pack within the container.

The container spreading unit When the container has been lled at the filling station I4 the next intermittent movement of the conveyor chains will bring the filled mold unit to the container spreading unit. This mechanism acts to engage the mouth ofthe container at its opposite seamed edges and to spread the mouth so that in a subsequent operation a continuous seam may be formed entirely across the width -of the container andl in an unbroken seam along the mouth of the container. The structure comprises 4a. transversely extending supporting frame |84 upon which a plurality of |85 are supported. These pinions stand withv their axes parallel and horizontal and engage the teeth |86 of a transversely extending gear rack |81. The gear rack |81 is connected to an operating arm 88 which is mounted upon the shaft 55 previously described. This shaft carries a cam lever arm 54 upon which a cam roller 53 is supported. 'Ihe cam roller 53 rests upon the surface of a cam element 52 which is secured upon the `end of the longitudinally extending drive shaft 4|. Av spring |89 acts to urge the operating lever |88 outwardly and tomove the gear rack |81 in the direction of the arrow a, as shown in Fig. l1. The gear rack, being in mesh with the pinions |85, rotates these pinions. The pinions |85 are in pairs and engage spreading bars |90 and |9|. These bars are supported upon the frame structure |84 to cross each other and have rack portions |92 which engage the pinions |85 and make it possible for the spreading bars to simultaneously reciprocate when the rack-bar |841 moves. By reference to Fig.- 1 -the bars 'are disclosed in solid v rteaming and closing operation.

The vacuum. sealing um't "The vacuum sealing unit generally indicated at I6 in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings comprises a pair of uprights |93and |94 upon which a sealing head structure |95 is mounted to vertically lreciprocate. This head structure is designed to fit over the top of the pan portion |60 of the mold u nits and to form a seal with the marginal lip |96 thereof. The marginal lip is formed with a groove |91 in its under face which carries a packing gasket |98. rests directly upon the lip |96 and forms a. vacuum seal therewith when the sealing head structure |95 rests rmly u pon the lip |96 of a mold unit 36. The sealing head structure is provided with connecting links |99 pivotally connected to the head structure at 200 and also connected to a lever 20| at 202. The lever20| is pivoted to the frame on a pin 203 and carries a .cam roller 204 at a point intermediate its length. This cam roller engages the edge of a cam 205 which is mounted on the shaft 26 and by which the sealing head structure |95 is given power to lift and lower intermittently.

The packing gasket |98.

the.lifting operation is relieved and the pressure. rods 220 move downwardly through the stuffing' boxes 22| to exertthe desired force for'sealing. The pressure rods 220 carry collars 222 provided with pins 223 which extend into slotted openings 22.4 in a lever 225. The lever 225, or a plurality of such levers,'are mounted upon' a rock shaft 4 226 having an arm 221 engaged by a shackle 228.

The shackle 228'extends to a cam lever 229 pivoted at 230 on the base plate of the structure. This lever carries a roller 23| which acts upon Ia cam 232 to operate ,the lever.

In cooperation with the operation of the seaming head the folding fingers move to folded and unfolded positions. This is brought about due to the fact that the'shafts |63 and |64 carrying the fingers are also supplied .with gear `segments 'I'he sealing head structure |95 carries a plurality of sealing levers 201. These extendhorizontally beneath the head and are mounted upon pivot pins 206 which are held by lugs 209 on the under face of the head.l Each of the levers 201 is tted with a pressure element 2|0 which extends horizontally and longitudinally out of the head. The pressure element is yprovided with a pin 2H which extends through `a downwardly projecting lug 2|2 carried by the lever 201. Nuts 2|3 engage the pin and hold it in position. The nuts are set so that the pressure element 2|0 is free to oscillate on the pin in .a vertical plane, and thus adjust itself, for a purpose to lbe hereinafter described.

One vertical vface of the pressure element 2|0 is recessed to receive an electric heatingelement 2|4. The lower edge of the pressure element 2|0 has an inclined pressure face 2|5 which imparts heat and pressure to the collapsed mouth of the container and heat-seals the container closed in cooperation with the inclined face 2|6 of the finger |66.

Prior to the heatfsealing actionit is necessary to produce a vacuum action, and-for that purpose the pressure of the pressure element 2|0 is relieved fromthe mouth of the container. This is accomplished by a shaft 2|1 which is rotatably supported in bearings 2|8 on the bot- 233 and 234, respectively. These segments cause the fingers to swing in unison. The shaftsare ttedwith trip members 235 which engage tripping elements 236 and 231 along the path of travel of a mold unit to the vvacuum station and away rfrom the vacuum station. When in engagement with trip 236 the fingers fold together. When in engagement with trip 231 they swing apart.

In operation ofthe present invention the machine is assembled as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. When thus assembled the machine is driven by a motor |1. This imparts rotation to a main drive shaft 20 through a belt I9. The shaft 20 imparts motion through the gear chains previously'described to the various transverse shafts 23 and 26 which thus drive continuously. The shaft 26 carries the disc 21' and pin 28 of `a Geneva .movement which includes the star wheel 29 mounted upon the conveyor shaft 3| and by whichthe conveyor shaft 3| is intermittently driven. By this arrangement the conveyor chains 32 and 33 are intermittently moved with the mold, units 36 so that these units will successfully move and stop at the container receiving station in register with the expander unit i3, at the filling station beneath the filling structure i4, at the container mouth spreading station beneath the spreader |5,.and at the vacuum sealing station i6.

The longitudinally extending shaft 4| is continuously driven off the main shaft and thus places all ofthe cams carried by the longitudinal shaft 4| and the shafts driven therefrom in `continuous rotation. units have been described as single units. It is to be understood, however, that the machine may be' of any desired width as output is required, and that by way of example the mold units 36 each carry 5 mold pockets |5| spaced from each other transversely of the machine and y suspended from a pan |60. It will therefore be understood that the magazine unit I2 is formed with five magazine compartments, that the ex:

pander structure I3 with its guide rails is provided with five expander units,V that there are five sections to the feed mechanism, as well as five spreading units anda vacuum closing head container compartments and are urged forwardly against the front wall 63 of the magazine frame. These containers are disposed so that th lowermost container rests partially on the tom of the sealing head |95 and carries lifting detents 2|!) which nt beneath the free ends of the levers 201 and act to lift these free ends slightly during the vacuum action, after which floor of the magazine and that its overhanging end 1| engages a lip 95 to assume a spread position at the mouth of the container 68, as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings. When in Heretofore, the different expander to a contracted position against the tension of spring |40. The cam -then acts upon the cam lever structure ||3 and ||5 to impart horizontal motion to the magazine unit I2. This will cause each of the magazine units to be moved over the expanding units 94 so lthat the lowermost container 68 will be slippedover a corresponding expander. As .this movement begins the portion 18 of the trip leverv 11 will encounter the stop 80 on lthe supporting rod 82 and will rotate the shaft 12 until it passes dead-center, at which time the spring 84 connected to the lever 85 will swing over deadcenter and swing the lever 85 to its extreme position. This particular movement will swing the spreading fingers 86 from the solid line position indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings to the dotted line position, with the result that the flaring lips 89 and 90 of the fingers will pass into the open mouth of the container and spread the container so that its walls 69 and 10 will be stretched substantially parallel and the opening will be suf- .cient to permit the end of the expander to be readily introduced thereinto.

As the magazine continues to move. forwardly and to carry each container 68 over and around an expanding unit the yieldable detent at the end of the'lever section 19 of the trip member 11 will swing clear of the stop 8| on the bar 83 but will be in an obstructing position on the return stroke. When the container has been drawn over an expander until the protruding point of the expander reaches the end of the container further movement of the magazine in the direction of the expander will cause the container to pull away from the yieldable holding member 14 and will cause the overhanging lip 1| of the upper wall of the container to move clear from the ledge 95. At this time the bell crank levers |4|l will swing away from a position of pressure against the ends of the plates |39-and the springs |40 connected with each expander structure will then act to cause the expander to spread vtoits indicated at 24| in Fig. 11 of the drawings.

rectangular sectional form within the container.

The magazine |2 is then retracted to its original position while the expanders stand horizontally.

vwhile the sides ofthe container are being folded so that the edge seamed portions 240 will be folded against the side of the edge wall of the container. As the expander and the container continue to travel along the guide" floor and between the side guides |53 and |54 they will reach a position shown in Fig. 20 of the drawings where it will be seen that the corners 239 will be folded upwardly along the outsides of the guide plates |54 and |53 by the projecting lips |59 carried by the plate |55. Thus, the corner points will be'conditioned to fold directly against the edge walls of the container in the finally formed package indicated in Fig. 19 of the drawings. When this position is reached and the expander stands vertically and dependent from its vpivot the container will fall from the expander and into an appropriate mold pocket |5|. If necessary, a jet of air maybe provided to blow the container oi of the expander and to discharge it into the mold pocket (although the structure is not shown in the drawings). This is done as cam |38 acts through the lever |34, the connecting rod |36 and the cross-head |22 to bodily lower the set4 of `expander units with the containers thereon. After the containers y have been deposited in the set of mold pockets of a mold unit 36 the intermittent drive will advance the mold unit 36 toward the filling station and will position a mold unit with an emptyset of containers in register with the chutes |13. These chutes are then lowered into the containers and the mold through the action of cam |83, lever arm and the arm |14 connected to the telescoping chute. A suitable timing mechanism feeds material from the storage bin |10 through the weighing structure |1| and then through the chutes to the various containers. As the filling progresses the cam and lever structure elevates the chute and gradually withdraws it from the container. The intermittent motion then moves the moldunits 36 consecutively to the spreader unit I5. Here l the cam 52 acts through the lever arm 54 and the shaft 55 to operate the transversely extending rack bar |81. As this takes place the spreading bars and |9| move downwardly and at right angles to each other into the open mouth of the container. They then engage the inner face of the edge walls of the container adjacent the point at which the seams 240 occur and spread the upper portion of the mouth of the container as When this operation has been completed the mouth of the container will retain a substantially permanent set with the inner faces of tlie container walls 69 and 10 abutting against each other. It is to be--understood that preferably the inner walls are as described in the aforementioned patent of applicant and are formed with abutting laminae of Pliofilm which will heat-seal. The relief of pressure of the cam 52 will cause the spring |89 to swingthe arm |88 outwardly and move the rack bar |81 to retract the spreading fingers |90 and |9|. The intermittent motion then moves the mold unit 36 to the vacuum sealing station, during which time a trip lever 242 carried by shaft |63 or shaft |64 engages the trip member 236 disposed along the path of travel of the mold unit so that the folding fingers |65 and |66 will swing down from the position shown in Fig. 21 of the drawings to the overlapping position shown in Fig. 13. will cause the upper mouth portion 24| to be folded between the ends of the fingers and to lie along the inclined face 2|6 of the finger |66. The seaming head through a suction pipe 243 which communicatesy with ducts 244 through the seaming head |05.

Prior to sealing the container it may be desirable to direct a jet'of air against the meeting surfaces of the container to blow away dust or other extraneous material. nected with a suitable source of suction, such for cxample'as a vacuum pump, and causes the air -to be -evacuated from around and within the mass of the product with which the container is iilled, and also creates a desired condition of negative pressure within the container. It will also be seen that at this time the pan and the mold pockets will be under the same condition of partial vacuum as exists within tthe container. The member 2 i 9 then moves downwardly to permit the pressure element 2|0 toy be forced against the flap portion 24| and to heat-seal this portion in a continuous seam extending throughout the width of the container. After this operation has been completed the cam lever 20| is actuated bythe cam 205 to lift the seaming head |35 from its sealing position upon the pan |60 of the mold unit 36. When the seal is broken between the head |95 and the pan of the mold unit 36a condition of atmospheric pressure will be re-established within the mold unit and the pockets |5| and around the sealed container therein. This uniform atmospheric pressure The suction pipe 243 is conk shaped, filled and sealed, forming means com-- scribed in which bag-like flexible containers having closed sides anda 'closed end are shaped,`

lled and sealed, forming means comprising a magazine within which said containers are dis.-

posed in acollapsed condition, meansas a part of said magazine for spreading the mouth'of the lowermost container in the magazine, expanding means adapted to beintroduced into the vmagazine ina normally collapsed condition, cooperating means producing relative' movement between the container andthe expander whereby the expander will be positioned within the container, means acting to expand the expander. while so positioned, whereby the container will be given the general shape of the iinalpackage, and folding-means cooperating with the expander to fold the sides and the closed end of the container to give the package shape.

2. Same as claim l, adding the following: a mold unit in which said shaped container is deposited and means for moving the expander and the container thereon to register vwith said mold unit, whereby the container will be deposited therein.

3. In a packaging device of the character described in which bag-like flexible containers are prising a magazine within which said containers are disposed in a collapsed condition, means as a against the side walls of the container will cause a the container to be molded into a shape agreeing with the configuration of the side wallsv and the material of the container will be compacted so that a final firm and hard package will be made even though the material with which the package was 'filled is normally loose and powdered or granular, this feature of the invention being previously disclosed` in my co-pending application Serial No. 210,038. The mold unit 36 may then be advanced toward the end of the upper run of the conveyor and in so doing thetrip lever 242 will engage the trip stop 231 to swing the folding nngers |65 and |66 to the position shown in Fig. 21 of the drawings and thus prepare them for a new cycle of operation as the mold units 36 travel along the lower run of the conveyor chain to the station where they receive other containers from the expanders 94. When the mold units pass beneath the sprockets 29 the mold units will be inverted so that the nished packages may fall from the mold Apockets to be-delivered to lthe labeling .or packing machine.

Itwill thus beseen that the invention here disclosed comprises a compact design for a full automatic machine which receives unnlied ilexilole containers and shapes these containers into final package form, thereafter filling the containers, folding and sealing the same, thus insuring that various products' including food products, and particularly coiee, may be rapidly placed in inexpensive containers and vacuum sealed so that-the contents of the containers will be preserved against contamination ordeterioration.

`While I have shown the preferred form of my invention as now known to me, it will be understood that various changes may be made in combination, construction and arrangement of parts by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed. d

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Ina packaging-device of the character de- ,the withdrawal part of said magazine for spreading the mouth of thev lowermost container in the magazine, ex-

panding means adapted to be introduced into the magazine in a normally'collapsed condition, cooperating means producing relative movement between the container and the expander whereby the .expander will be positioned within the container, means acting to expandv the expander while-so positioned whereby the container will be 1 given-,the general shape of the iinal package,

folding means cooperating with the expander to fold the sides andclose the end of the container to give the package shape, a mold unit in which vsaid shaped container is deposited, means for moving the expander and the container thereon to register with said mold unit whereby the container will be deposited therein, and Ja traveling conveyor carrying the mold unit to and from its point of register with theI expander.

4. In apparatus of the character described and within which normally flat bag-like containers are handled, a magazine for carrying a stack o'f u said containers and yholding the lowermost container in a position to be extracted iro'm the magazine, an expander pivoted to'swing. in a vertical plane vfrom a position in alignment with the lower container in the magazine to av lower vertical position, a folding member along the path oftravel of the expander whereby the bottom end andi sides of a container may be olded to a desired shape as the expander travels from its horizontal position to its vertical position, means for swinging the expander from its vertical position to its horizontal position and in return, means for reciprocating the magazine whereby the lowermost container therein will be moved onto the expander, and means for expandingthe expander with the container thereon and synchronous driving means for the various operating units. v

5. A bag expanding structure within which normally nat bag-like containers are handled, a

'magazine receiving a vertical stack of containers and supporting the samein a manner to permit of the lowermost container, spreading fingers adapted to swing into the mouth of the lowermost container to spread the same, a collapsible expanding unit adapted to swing toward and away from positions of alignment with the lowermost container in the magazine, means collapsing the expanding unit, a supporting structure for the magazine and along which it may travel horizontallyto position the container in a bracing position over the exlpander, said collapsing means being. capable of releasing the expander to permit it to expand within the container and give shape to the same, means acting to swing the spreading fingers out of the mouth of the container while permitting the expander to enter the same, forming guides adjacent to the magazine and along which the expander and the container disposed thereon may pass as the end and sides of the container are kfolded and shaped by the'cooperating action of the expander and the forming guides, means for reciprocating the magazine, means for oscillating the expander, means for actuating the device for-causing the collapse and expansion of the expander, means for swinging the spreading ngers to and from their spreading positions, and synchronous operating means for said various driving devices.v

SAMUEL H. BERCH. 

